Ready for the apocalypse! One American family shows what it takes to prepare

Ready for the apocalypse! One American family shows what it takes to prepare for the end of civilisation as we know it

Imagine if suddenly, and completely without warning, the world experienced a total blackout – no electricity, no mobile phones, no banks, no internet, no TV, no emergency services. Nothing

Apocalypse-ready and proud: The Douglas family is one of many stocking up for the end of the world. To stage this photograph, it took 15 people over six hours to move all of his stockpile - mostly kept in his basement - out onto his front lawn

WHAT THE PHOTO SHOWS: THE DOUGLAS FAMILY STOCKPILE THAT TOOK SIX HOURS TO BRING OUT OF STORAGE

Imagine if suddenly, and completely without warning, the world experienced a total blackout – no electricity, no mobile phones, no banks, no internet, no TV, no emergency services. Nothing.

Highways quickly become jammed with cars that have ground to a halt; an aeroplane falls from the sky; a satellite view of the planet shows it rapidly plunging into darkness.

As it becomes apparent that the lights are never coming back on, nations are plunged into chaos, mass riots break out in major cities and, without electricity, governments are toppled. Into the vacuum step ad-hoc militias, armed and ready to enforce their own rule of law.

This is the apocalyptic premise of the hit American TV series Revolution, which begins on Sky 1 this week. In the first episode, viewers are pulled through this nightmarish chain of events.

So, what would you do? It’s a question that members of a burgeoning subculture known as ‘Preppers’ – people who are prepared for any kind of disaster – have been asking themselves for years.

Preppers look at the world around them and see all kinds of potential threats – economic collapse, global warming, terrorism, nuclear war, dwindling energy supplies, asteroid strikes and, yes, a prolonged blackout.

They’ve largely reached the same conclusion: the end of the world as we know it is just around the corner, and time is running out to gear up for the total collapse of society.

It’s estimated there are three million Preppers in the U.S. alone, and the number is rising.

Furthermore, the recession has seen ‘Prepping’ become a multibillion-dollar industry, with many American Preppers spending thousands every year stocking up on supplies to see them through the impending catastrophe.

Ron Douglas (pictured above, with his wife, six children and enough supplies to be self-sufficient for a year) has seen business boom in the past 12 months. A founder of the Red Shed Media Group in the States, he’s enjoying what might be described as the ‘profits of doom’.

Black Blade: Given the current state of the economy and the current leadership in this country it is prudent to stock up and be prepped just in case of anything happening that can adversely affect day to day life.

When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America , you get a front row seat. - George Carlin

First thing I do is not put all my prepping supplies out on the lawn for the entire world to see OR in some national or international media.

I have long said the best way to avoid trouble in those "apocalyptic times" is simply to be invisible right out in the open. Don't make yourself a target by being flashy about your preps. Buy extra when you shop and store it, buy some of the not so usual items and store them. Move around when you shop so the nosey cashier doesn't see you consistently buying cases of items on sale. Go to the warehouse type stores like Costco, or the huge supermarkets like HyVee or Woodman's where they expect people to stock up. Don't talk about what you are doing, if asked just say something like oh we are having a huge family re-union and I am doing the cooking or some such story.

I am amazed at how many people blab openly about the guns and ammunition they have. Not just to friends but to anyone in a gun store, or at work. To me it just makes you a target...

FyredUp, you are right. I hope they have plenty of guns and ammo to protect their supplies with after showing it to the world! He just put a big target on him and his family as far as I'm concerned.

“The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference- they deserve a place of honor with all that is good.”George Washington

"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." George Washington

There was a guy on National Geographic's "Doomsday Preppers" who was bragging about his M1A Springfield. He showed it several times during the program. It turns out that some government Storm Trooper in the prepper's home state of Tennessee took a liking to it. He then proceeded to accuse the prepper of being suicidal and stole the gun from him. A prepper is suicidal? But, the government drone had to accuse and him of something and convince a judge that the "prepper" should not have a gun so that the jack booted government agent could get it for himself. What a country!
But, it does prove one thing: You have a MOUTH; use it wisely! What others don't know about your possessions won't hurt you!

Eustace the mountain man is another good example. Goons crawling all over his property looking for something to hang him for.

Exactly!!!! Too many of these people that show what they've got and what they're doing have brought the wrath of the government on themselves. Like Fyred up said, be invisible. Keep a low profile. I don't tell anyone sh*t about what I have or what my plans are. If/when the SHTF, we are preparing to bug in, and be as invisible as possible. Camoflage the yard and exterior of the house to make it look as unapetizing as possibler, so that the hordes will target a nicer home/yard for pillaging. We still don't have everything we want to have put up, but we're still heading in the right direction.

Enforcement, NOT Amnesty!!!!!!

"If they’re going to come here illegally, apply for & receive assistance through a corrupted Government agency encouraging this lawless behavior, work under the table & send billions of dollars each year back to their families in Mexico, while bleeding local economies dry, protest in our streets waving their Mexican flags DEMANDING rights, while I have to press ’1′ for English, then they need to be shipped back to where they came from!" -Chad Miller

Funny thing is I don't think any of us will have EVERYTHING we want or need IF, or WHEN, the SHTF. It seems to me almost everyday I think of something new to add to the stores.

Very true! Virtually every day I find something else that I think could be useful, or downright important. Unfortunately more ideas, than space and money.

Enforcement, NOT Amnesty!!!!!!

"If they’re going to come here illegally, apply for & receive assistance through a corrupted Government agency encouraging this lawless behavior, work under the table & send billions of dollars each year back to their families in Mexico, while bleeding local economies dry, protest in our streets waving their Mexican flags DEMANDING rights, while I have to press ’1′ for English, then they need to be shipped back to where they came from!" -Chad Miller

Very true! Virtually every day I find something else that I think could be useful, or downright important. Unfortunately more ideas, than space and money.

Couldn't possibly agree more. Funny how things that seem just so everyday in my life now would simply be gone if the normal supply lines dried up. I guess the truth is very few will ever be 100% ready for anything. Survival is one thing, comfort is another, and luxury is completely another. I would like to find myself closer to the comfort side of things but to be brutally honest survival beats the alternative. At least until we can rebuild and get things right again!